by Julia Ryan, USA TODAY

by Julia Ryan, USA TODAY

The week in Tech news included live updates from an immensely popular conference, news about the possibility of life on Mars and a new smartphone. Here's what you need to know:

1) SXSW ROUNDUP

The South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival drew even more tech geeks, musicians and filmmakers to Austin this week for 10 days of panels and concerts.

USA TODAY's Ed Baig, Mike Snider and Jon Swartz were on hand to check out the newest toys, apps and trends.

Here are a few highlights:

â?¢ Proving that nothing is off-limits at SXSW, MakeLoveNotPorn.com CEO Cindy Gallop held a session on The Future of Porn and said there's "a complete absence in society of an open, healthy, honest, truthful conversation around sex in the real world."

â?¢ Kevin Rose and Wesley Chan of Google Ventures met with tech start-ups about doling out some of their company's $300 million fund. Chan told Jon Swartz that he was on the lookout for companies with ideas for changing the mobile market.

â?¢ In a video interview, Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley said SXSW has changed considerably in the eight years that he has attended the festival. "It's gone from four or five companies trying to get attention to 1,000 companies trying to get attention.".

2) Facebook's Sandberg wants to lead new women's movement

Mark Zuckerberg's COO is stepping out to help other women climb the ranks in the corporate world. Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg's new book, Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead, tackles the big issues that women face in Corporate America, including gender equality and the quest to "have it all" with a stable family and a good job.

Jon Swartz chatted with Sandberg earlier this week about her book. Sandberg said "the blunt truth is that men still run the world" and she hopes to change that soon: "I want to change the conversation from what (women) can't do to what we can do."

Sandberg detailed the sexist comments that she's received in the workplace over the years, and deflected criticism that she is "too elitist" to address the issues of the average working woman. "There is a lively debate. Passions run deep, which is good. I'm simply worried about stagnation and apathy on this topic."

3) Life on Mars? Rover shows it could've been possible

Life on Mars is not just the stuff of science fiction movies and the title of a David Bowie song. NASA announced that the Mars Curiosity rover has found evidence of past habitable conditions in a Martian crater. The crater was once a lake bed billions of years ago, and powder drilled from the crater's bedrock revealed traces of sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen and other elements that are vital to sustaining life.

This is a huge development for the Curiosity team. NASA deputy administrator John Grunsfeld said the rover has achieved one of its chief goals of the two-year mission in just seven months.

4) Google Reader shutdown

Google announced on Thursday that it will shut down its popular RSS Reader on July 1, citing a decline in use and a new "less is more" focus for the company's products. The announcement sparked outrage across the Internet, from trending topics on Twitter to a petition on Change.org to keep Google Reader.

The Google Reader shutdown presents an important question: Do we really even need RSS feeds anymore? Why use a service like Google Reader when you can get news more quickly on Facebook and Twitter? If you're still an RSS devotee, make sure you check out our guide to Google Reader alternatives.

5) Samsung unveils Galaxy S4

Samsung officially unveiled its new Galaxy S4 smartphone at a press event in New York on Thursday. The new smartphone has a 5-inch full HD screen and a slimmer, lighter body. But the coolest feature is the phone's Dual Camera, which can take pictures and videos from both cameras simultaneously.

If you want to check out the new phone for yourself, it will go on sale with all four major phone carriers later this year at an expected price of $200.